The Brave 300
by Pinkie Diane and Surprise Pie
Summary: The Equestrian retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. One-Shot. Rated T for character death and mild adultery. Written in 'Wikipedia' format.


The following Fan Fiction is written in 'Wikipedia' format and contains character death. That's it.

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_**The Brave 300**_

Twilight Sparkle, an Equestrian soldier, narrates the story of Celestia from her fillyhood to becoming a queen of Equestria. Years later, a Changeling messenger arrives at the gates of Equestria, demanding the submission of Equestria to Queen Crysalis. In response to this demand, Celestia bucks the messenger into a large well. Knowing this will prompt a Changeling attack, Celestia visits the Elders—ancient leprosy-ridden priests whose blessing she needs before the Equestrian council will authorize going to war. She proposes they repel the numerically superior Changelings by using the terrain of Οι πύλες του χάους (the Gates of Chaos) and funneling the Changelings into a narrow pass between the rocks and the sea. The Elders consult the Oracle, who decrees that Equestria must not go to war during their religious Summer Sun Celebration. As Celestia departs, two agents of Crysalis appear—one of them, Sombra, an Equestrian—who bribe the Elders with concubines and money.

Celestia follows her plan anyway, setting out with only 300 soldiers (Including the Elements of Harmony), whom she calls her personal guards to avoid needing the council's permission. Though she regards the mission as certain suicide, she hopes the sacrifice will spur the council to unite against the Changelings. On the way to Οι πύλες του χάους, Wonderbolt solders join the Equestrians. At Οι πύλες του χάους they construct a wall to contain the approaching Changelings. As construction goes on, Celestia meets Geri, a hunchbacked Equestrian in exile whose parents fled Equestria to spare him certain infanticide. Wanting to redeem his father's name, Geri asks to join the fight; he warns Celestia of a secret path the Changelings could use to outflank and surround them. Though Celestia sympathizes with Geri's will to fight, she turns him down, as Geri cannot properly hold a shield: this would compromise the Equestrians' phalanx formation.

Before the battle, the Changeling Captain demands that the Equestrians lay down their weapons. Celestia refuses, and with their tightly-knit phalanx formation, the Equestrians use the narrow terrain to repeatedly rebuff the advancing Changeling army. Crysalis personally parleys with Celestia, offering her wealth and power in exchange for her loyalty and surrender. Celestia declines, and Crysalis sends her elite guard, the formidable Immortals, to attack, but the Equestrians successfully dispatch them, suffering a few casualties of their own. Crysalis then sends a number of exotic weapons at the Equestrians, including black powder bombs and war elephants, but all of these attacks fail. During these attacks, Derpy is killed, which drives her husband Captain Time Turner into a fit of rage.

Angered by Celestia's rejection, Geri defects to the Changelings and informs them of the secret path. When they realize Geri's treachery, the Wonderbolts retreat, and Celestia orders Twilight and the Elements of Harmony to return to Equestria to tell the Council of their sacrifice. Though Twilight had recently injured her left eye in combat, she is still fit for battle, but Celestia decides to use Twilight's gift for storytelling to appeal to the Equestrian council. Though reluctant to leave their friends behind, the Elements of Harmony leaves with the Wonderbolts.

In Equestria, Princess Luna (Celestia' sister) agrees to a sexual encounter with Sombra, before which he promises his help in persuading the Equestrian council to send reinforcements to Celestia. However, following her address to the Council, Sombra publicly betrays the Princess by accusing her of adultery, prompting the councilmen to cry out in outrage and Luna to kill him in a fit of anger. The xiphē that Luna uses to kill Sombra pierces his purse, spilling Changeling coins from his robe, revealing his role as traitor, and the Council agrees to unite against the Changelings.

At Οι πύλες του χάους, the Changelings use the goat path to outflank the Equestrians. Crysalis's general demands their surrender, again offering Celestia titles and prestige. Celestia seemingly bows in submission, allowing Big Macintosh to leap over her and kill the general instead. Furious, Crysalis orders her troops to attack. Celestia rises and hurls her spear at Crysalis, cutting the Queen on the cheek, thus fulfilling an earlier promise to "make the God-Queen bleed". Visibly disturbed by this reminder of her mortality, Crysalis watches as a massive barrage of arrows kills all the Equestrians. Moments before her death, Celestia pledges her undying friendship to Luna.

Concluding her tale before an audience of Equestrians on the edge of the battlefield a year after Οι πύλες του χάους, Twilight relates how the Changeling army has suffered desertions, out of fear and the heavy casualties they suffered at the hands of a mere 300 Equestrians. Word of their valiant resistance spread across Equestria, inspiring the different city-states to unite against the Changelings. Now, the Changelings face 10,000 Equestrian solders leading 30,000 free Equestrians. Although still outnumbered three to one, Twilight declares that the Equestrians shall be victorious and praises the sacrifice of the 300. She and the Elements of Harmony then lead the Equestrians in a charge against the Changeling army at the Battle of Ένα εκατομμύριο φορείς (a Million Bodies), the battle that would end Changeling's invasion of Equestria.


End file.
